How to test the pH Level in Your Pond...and Oak Tannins - New Pond Water Quality (Part 12)

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The pond has been retaining water for 2 weeks at this point, and has about 6 feet of water collected here after a couple of hard rains. This is a brand new pond, and while I’m excited to get some FHM and shiners started as forage, we need to figure out our pH balance of the water.

This filamentous algae bloom just showed up on the surface today, and this dark brown floating sludgy film showed up right after a heavy rain. I’m not sure what is causing that dark stuff. With no photosynthesis taking place in the pond so far since there isn’t any vegetation, the dissolved carbon dioxide in the pond is high, and I’ve read that this brown sludge could be an indication of high dissolved CO2 levels….which would make sense in our case as we’ve yet to supplement oxygen.

I’m no water expert with any chemistry background, but I have done enough research to know that maintaining a balanced pond ecosystem is vital to the success of your pond.

pH Test Kit: https://amzn.to/3NWfJMk
Pond Master Water Test Kit: https://amzn.to/3yRCUDw

pH levels in a pond directly impacts the fish’s ability to reproduce, fight disease and digest food. So in order to increase the production, growth and health of your fish in your pond, maintaining a healthy pH range is imperative. pH is measured on a scale of 0-14. A pH level of 7 is considered neutral. This is the pH level of human blood. Anything lower than 7 is considered “acidic” and anything higher than 7 is considered “basic” or “alkaline”. For fish, their blood pH is slightly higher at around 7.4. So the goal for our pond with a focus on creating a quality fishery is to create an environment for game fish to thrive. And a pH range between 6.5 - 8.5 is what we’re after.

You didn’t come here to get a water lesson, but pond management is complicated with a lot of moving parts, and constantly fluctuating components….and it’s important that we wrap our heads around the cause and effect relationships of what goes in the pond.

The aeration system arrived from The Pond Guy. We got a 3/4hp with three quad diffusers and 500 feet of weighted air hose. I’ll bring you this complete installation process in a future video as soon as we get the electrical run down to the pond’s edge where we’re going to position the pump. Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss this upcoming video.

Good intro resource: https://www.noble.org/news/publicatio...

Out of curiosity, I tested the water from this stream as it seeped up through the ground before it entered into the pond, and the pH was basically neutral, which was comforting to know that the water source was good.

The wood chunk is from an oak tree that was just cut down the day before. We’ve been debating about whether to put “green” oak stumps and logs in the pond for fear of the poisonous tannins leeching out into the water, and potentially killing fish in the future, and making the water unsightly stained. I was shocked at how dark the water became as the tannins leeched out of the oak wood. Something to keep in mind as you consider putting newly felled oak trees in your pond.

Photosynthesis is amazing: https://www.icr.org/article/photosynt...

Pond Build Videos:
Part 14 - Pond Dam Overflow Pipe Installation -    • Pond Dam Overflow Pipe Installation - Bent...  
Part 13 - Pond Dam Erosion After a Heavy Rain -    • BEWARE of Erosion - The Biggest Pond Build...  
Part 12 - Testing the pH Level in a Pond -    • How to test the pH Level in Your Pond...an...  
Part 11 - Fishing Structure Part 2 - Root balls and rock piles -    • BEST Fishing Habitat for Ponds  
Part 10 - Building a Walleye Spawning Stream -    • Will Walleyes Spawn in a Pond? - Pond Buil...  
Part 9 - The Clay Pond Dam is Complete -    • Fishing Pond Designs - How to Attract More...  
Part 8 - Finding Blue Clay in the Pond -    • BLUE Clay Layer - Pond Building Clay  
Part 7 - Digging a DEEP Pond Basin -    • Compacting Clay on a Pond Dam  
Part 6 - Fishing Pond Update (My First Cast) -    • Fishing Pond Build Update - (Part 6) - My ...  
Part 5 - Digging the Core Trench -    • Building the Core Trench in the Fishing Pond  
Part 4 - Removing the Top Soil -    • Fishing Pond Build Process  
Part 3 - We found a use for expired hand sanitizer -    • EXPLOSIVE Pond Build Preparations  
Part 2 - Tree Clearing to make room for the pond -    • Fishing Pond Prep - Big Oak Tree Clearing  
Part 1 - The Derecho Did It -    • Beginner 1 Acre Pond Blueprints - Pond Con...